The Eye
by RevvEmUp
Summary: Second 5E spin-off. Bill the Breacher is a detective on New Moon City, a vast domed city on Masser. When an old friend turns up dead, he finds that the situation is more complicated that he thought. An AlChestBreach fan story.
1. Chapter 1

Months after the Ka Po' Tun attack, an alliance between Tamriel and Akavir has been formed along with construction of a bridge spanning from Morrowind to Akavir. Meanwhile, Groin-Cruncher leaves his apartment in Stormhold and enters a taxi waiting for him outside. "Where to?" the Argonian driver asked. "Thorn Airport, please." Groin-Cruncher requested. They drive few hours east and arrive at a building similar to an airport, but aircrafts with rocket thrusters instead of turbines taking off and then disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The taxi driver drops him off at one of the terminals and Groin-Cruncher pays him. "Which moon?" the driver asked. "Masser. Why do you ask?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "I always wanted to go to one of the moons. I seen some red Elves come and go from the terminal once in a while." the driver said. He drives away as Groin-Cruncher enters the building to find restaurants, aurbis-related gift shops, reception, and check-in machines.

He approaches one of the check-in machines and holds up his ticket in front of the machine. It scans the ticket top to bottom and dispenses a boarding pass. "Have a nice flight!" the machine said in a robotic voice. He goes and waits at one of the gates, gazing at the aurbical crafts that appear out of thin air and land on the runway. His flight finally arrives and a crowd of people walk towards the gate bridge, and he follows. He enters the aurplane and finds the interior is identical to, but bigger than a standard economy-class.

As the last person, a tall red Elf with pitch-black eyes wearing a fleece jacket boards the shuttle and sits next to Groin-Cruncher, the aurplane drives along the runway as a hologram of a wireframe humanoid demonstrates safety protocols. The aircraft finally takes off and as Groin-Cruncher observes his window, he finds reality warping and eventually turning pitch-black. He realizes they have reached the orbit of Masser and looks upon at a passing satellite to which he says "Aw, nice!" in awe. "This is your captain speaking; we will arrive in thirty minutes." the captain announced over the speakers.

"It's been a while since I've seen the stars this close." the Elf said. "So, you're from New Moon City?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "I used to live in Velothiid City until after the eight-hundred-and-sixtieth Landfall Season when it was destroyed. I was just a child then, I'm just glad to be back home." the Elf said. "What's your name?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "Jirald. Just Jirald. What's yours?" Jirald asked.

"Groin-Cruncher. You don't want to know how I got It." Groin-Cruncher answered. The aurplane eventually reaches the atmosphere of Masser and gets caught in red dust storms. "Don't worry everyone; the hull can withstand even Solar Storm Sandy! We will be landing safely in just a few short minutes." the captain announced. Lights suddenly beam towards the aurplane as a hole in the wind forms. The aurplane is then caught by an orange pillar of light, surrounded by floating cubes.

The pillar pulls the aurplane into itself. "Don't worry folks; we are just landing at Armstrong Aurport. Welcome to New Moon City." the captain announced. The aurplane is pulled into the pillar of light and is no longer covered in dust, and finds itself on a runway surrounded by a lake, with a sky similar on Nirn. The pillar of light is revealed to come from two projectors mounted on a vehicle similar to an airport crash tender. The aurplane is released and touches down on the runway.

The craft has emerged from a hole in the sky that closed up like a flower, sweeping away moon dust. The aurplane drives towards the terminal and a bridge extends towards the aurplane. "I'm so excited." Groin-Cruncher said giddily. They get up from their seats and move towards the exit. Groin-Cruncher walks down the bridge, and looks around the giant aurport.

He goes outside and sees a giant city below a blue sky before walking to one of the nearby taxi cabs waiting. "Drive me to Grand Central Station." Groin-Cruncher requested to the Moon Elf driver as he entered the passenger seat. Later in a suburban house, a young blond Nord with a goatee wearing a green shirt and khaki shorts is running around his house. "Harvey! Where are you?! Did you get the cups?! Crunch is coming and we don't have much time!" the man yelled stressfully. A brown cat with a white chest walks up to him with a red disposable plastic cup.

"My god… After four years, you finally got the cups… We need more though!" the man said. The doorbell rings as the cat ran into the kitchen. "Here already?" the man wondered. He goes to the door and opens it, with Groin-Cruncher outside. "Crunch!" "Bill!" the two greeted each other excitedly.

"How are you? I haven't seen you since E3." Groin-Cruncher greeted. "Oh, you know: the usual. Come in. For once Harvey actually got a cup." Bill welcomed Groin-Cruncher. "And the next thing you'll say is that Darlene actually shoots lasers from her eyes." Groin-Cruncher mocked. They sit down at a table across the kitchen, with Harvey sitting on the table with the cup still in his mouth. "By the Hist, you were right!" Groin-Cruncher exclaimed in disbelief.

They then sit at the table as Harvey puts down the cup and jumps off the table. "So what was happening down on Nirn? Well… besides the dragon attack." Bill asked. "My boss has gone missing. Nobody's sad, though. He's basically the Colter of our Nuka-World. How's Nuka-World, by the way?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "It's okay. I blew up someone with a U.F.O. ride." Bill replied. Meanwhile at a small convenience store, Jirald exits its sliding doors and enters a taxi.

"Central Station, please." Jirald requested. They drive away from traffic and into a dark alley. "You're going to whack me, aren't you?" Jirald asked. The driver turns around and reveals to be an animated mannequin.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Groin-Cruncher wakes up in the guest room of Bill's house and goes to his room. "Hey, whatcha doin'?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "Just editing some videos for Nuka-World." Bill answered. A phone rings nearby. "I got it." Bill said as he picked up his iPear.

"Sorry, I'm busy right now… a murder? Where? I'll be there as soon as possible!" Bill said hurriedly. "What was that about a murder?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "It's work. There's some takeout in the fridge. Don't touch the regal queen." Bill said as he took a hardhat and a white shirt from a shelf. Groin-Cruncher moves out of the doorway to let Bill through, but hears him stumbling on the stairs. "God dammit, Harvey!" Bill swore angrily.

"Are you okay?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "Yeah, *GROAN* I'm fine!" Bill said in pain. Later Bill, wearing a brown jacket and a white cloth wrapped around his face with a hardhat fastening it, arrives at an alley in his brown sedan where a police investigation is conducted. "Ah man, Bill's here." a Moon Elf policeman said in annoyance. "Hello everyone, Merry Eyesore the Elk here and what do we got?" Bill wondered.

"A murder apparently; abandoned taxi, dead guy; shot in the head." an Altmer policeman explained. Bill zips open a nearby body bag to find the body of an Orc man. "Oh no…" Bill said in despair. "Ghreg Gro-Adal, police detective. He disappeared three years ago during a case." the officer answered. "Any trace of the driver?" Bill asked.

"Unlike other taxis, this one doesn't have any tacky decorations. We found some footprints, but they're blank, almost as if this guy… isn't a guy." the officer informed. "What do you mean?" asked Bill. "The shape is a foot, but they're… boxy, right angles and such. We already got a cast in the labs for analysis. It's either that or this guy's been making his own weird shoes." the officer explained. Bill follows a trail of footprints into the back of the trunk. He looks inside and finds a pile of ash.

"What's this?" Bill asked. "It's ash, and a lot of it. We detected residual magicka so it may have formerly been a conjured creature, a daedroth, maybe." the officer explained. "It smells like firewood." Bill commented. "Send what you need to C.S.I., but I'm taking the body." said Bill. "Why, may I ask?" the officer asked.

"I just kinda have a hunch. I'll send a report soon." Bill said as he picked up the heavy body bag. "Vik, what's Detective Breacher doing now?" a Moon Elf officer asked the Altmer officer. "Oh, the usual stuff. It's a miracle he hasn't gotten in trouble with the higher-ups. He's a weird one, but always closes his cases." Vik said as he watched Bill dragging the body to his car's trunk and driving away. Bill calls someone on his phone, jacked into the car. "Uh hey, Crunch? Can you get Steven? I need him for something." Bill requested.

"What do you need him for this time? Body disposal? Exhuming one?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "I'm doing an autopsy at home, so I'll need Steven and his doctorate." Bill answered. "Wait, an autopsy? You're bringing a dead body to the house?!" Groin-Cruncher exclaimed in shock. "I'm doing it in the shed. Just keep Harvey and Darlene away." Bill requested. "Whatever." Groin-Cruncher said before Bill hung up.

Meanwhile Groin-Cruncher is sitting on the couch with his team around the living room. "Steven, don't eat the body this time. Please." Groin-Cruncher advised Steven. Later, Bill arrives back at the house, holding the body bag over his shoulder as he removes his face-shirt and hard hat. "Where's Steven?" Bill wondered. "Probably talking to 'The Queen'." Groin-Cruncher replied as Harvey stares at him from on top of the coffee table.

Bill goes out to the back of the house where Steven is staring at a tomato plant. "Steven, we're doing an autopsy, don't eat the body." Bill informed Steven. They walk into the nearby shed with a small lightbulb and a blood-stained table in the centre. "You have a grim look." Steven commented.

Bill slams the body bag on the table and opens it up. He casts a blue alteration spell on the body and it transforms into Jirald.

"Just as I suspected; someone wanted to cover up his murder. But who is this guy, and how does the perp know the detective?" Bill wondered as he finds bruises on the neck. "Steven, pass the fingerprint powder." Bill requested. Steven passes a small can with his mandibles to Bill, and then a brush. Bill opens the can and brushes the powder on the bruises.

"Hmm… there doesn't appear to be prints." Bill commented. Steven crawls up the table and buries his face in the body's neck. "Steven, what in Oblivion are you doing?!" Bill said in shock. Steven shows him a small black splinter between his mandibles. "Is that a splinter? Okay, the transfiguration spell is used by assassins like the Dark Brotherhood and several organized crime gangs. But which one?" Bill wondered.

He closes the body bag, puts the splinter in an evidence bag and exits the shed. He puts the body bag back in the trunk and starts the car. "Get in, Steven." Bill said as he opened the passenger door next to him. Steven jumps in and they drive away. They arrive at the crime lab where some forensic scientists are waiting for him outside.

He and Steven leave the car and grab the body bag from the trunk. "What have you done with the body this time, Bill?" a female Orc forensic scientist asked angrily. "I found that the body was transfigured." Bill answered. "Well if you're coming in, no pets allowed." the scientist said. "Please, if I brought a pet it would be either Harvey or Darlene. This is Doctor Steven; he helped me with my amazingly short autopsy. I'll explain later." Bill said as he walked the steps of the building.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

They enter the forensics lab and place the body bag on a dissection table. The scientists overlook Bill unzipping the body bag to reveal Jirald's body. "Who's this? This wasn't the victim from the crime scene." a Khajiit scientist asked. "I have no idea. It was transfigured into a missing detective. What did you find from the alley?" Bill asked. "We cast the footprints and saw they had a wooden texture, there appeared to be no signs of a struggle inside the car, and finally the ashes in the trunk are from ironwood. We think a Vokman puppet has been sent to kill this man." the Orc scientist informed. "It's just as I thought. Doctor Steven here found a splinter on the guy's neck. Can you guys find out who is guy is?" Bill asked.

"Sure, but can you find some evidence at Ghreg's apartment? There may be a reason why this man has been transfigured into him there." the Orc scientist instructed Bill. "You said this chaurus is a doctor? Khajiit highly doubt it." the Khajiit scientist commented with doubt. Steven throws a stiff, laminated degree on the wall next to the Khajiit's head. "Doctor of Forensics?" the Khajiit read, confused. "We should head to the apartment. Tell me is there's anything about this Guy." Bill said as he pulled the degree off the wall.

Bill and Steven leave the building and head off to Ghreg's apartment at a shady neighbourhood composed of apartments, garbage, and scum. They enter an apartment named "Lunar Heights". They go upstairs to Room 7 to find the interior is remarkably clean for a missing person's apartment or the kind of neighbourhood it's in. "Check the living room, I'll go to the bedroom." Bill ordered Steven. He goes to the bedroom and checks the sock drawers.

He removes the drawers to find anything under the cabinet, but finds nothing. "Did you find anything?!" Bill t asked Steven across the room. Steven walks up to Bill with a file between his mandibles. "What's this?" Bill wondered as he picked it up. He opens it to find Jirald's picture and information about him. "It says he's been paying for protection from the Vokman. Name: Jirald Sul, Family: Wife and Son, Occupation: House Sul Magister. Being in House Sul this guy must be filthy rich." Bill read.

He hears the door opening and hears a "Hello?" in an Orc's voice. They walk over to see Ghreg alive and well. "Ghreg Gro-Adal?" Bill asked. "Detective Breacher, it's been a while." Ghreg said. "I thought you were missing." Bill said. "I am. When my sister was informed of my death, I was in earshot in the living room. I came back to Branch Island to investigate." Ghreg explained. "I found that the body that was disguised as you is some mage from House Sul. What do you know about this guy?" asked Bill. "He was an ambassador to House Sul on Nirn and was a survivor of the Worm Attack of Sixteen-sixty-four. He barely interacts with people, not even his own family… except for one person." informed Ghreg.

"And who is this person?" Bill asked. "I only met this guy once, and man, he's scary. This is coming from an Orc. He was apparently his bodyguard. A Dunmer standing six and a half feet tall and wears an old bonemold mask. He hangs around the area recently, sometime after the Vokman arrived on Masser." Ghreg explained. "Where can I find him?" Bill asked. "Hmm… Maybe you should go to the Council House on Hill Island." Ghreg suggested. "Thanks, buddy." Bill thanked as he and Steven walked to the door, but not before Ghreg grabs his shoulder.

"I hope you'll be careful about this. The Vokman are dangerous folk; you should remember that." Ghreg warned. As Bill walked downstairs, he receives an encrypted call. "Hello?" Bill answered. "Meet me at the Shades Cornerclub a block south of here. No, this isn't a wrong number, Breacher. Yes, this is important. Ask for Mask." the mysterious caller instructed in a raspy voice before abruptly hanging up. "If I had a Septim for every time some guy calls me to a bar during work with an encrypted number, I'd be swimming in Goo Goo Bars." Bill commented as he puts on his shirt-mask and hardhat.

He goes to another part of town at Shades; a bar with an exterior consisting of a murky brick wall, a neon sign hanging over the entrance, and a large Cathay-Raht Khajiit bouncer guarding the entrance. "Good evening, sir!" Bill greeted the bouncer as he walked towards the door. "Hold it. I need some identification." the bouncer requested. "You know who I am." Bill said as he removed his shirt, revealing his face. "Th-the Breach?! Yes, sir. You c-can come in." the bouncer said nervously as he moved out of Bill's way.

Bill hides his face and enters, seeing the Dunmer patrons staring at him in confusion of a man wearing a shirt over his face. "Hey, does anyone know anything about a Mask?" Bill asked them. "That'd be me." a raspy voice said from a corner booth. Bill walks over to the booth and is met by a stranger wearing a black leather jacket and mask similar to a traditional chitin helmet. "What do you know?" Bill asked as he sat down on the seat adjacent to the Dunmer.

"It all started a very long time ago. My master who was recently murdered…" "You're the bodyguard? How do you know about the murder?" Bill interrupted Mask. "Quiet! As I was saying, my master was a lonely only child who didn't have any friends. One day, I was… hired, and became his friend over time. I watched him grow throughout his life, protecting him wherever he went. One day, he relieved me of duty. Later that day I discovered he hired the Vokman for protection. Recently, I found out he arranged his own assassination." Mask explained, head lowered.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

"How do you know about all of this?" Bill asked. "I kept tabs on him." Mask explained. "You're stalking him?" Bill asked. "He never said I couldn't follow him, so I still followed him." Mask answered. "Yep, you're stalking him." Bill commented.

"Is there anything else you need to know?" Mask asked. "I need your records of his activities. Also, aren't you going to question why I have a shirt on my face?" Bill asked. "I can tell you that he has always paid them on time. Recently he paid for his own assassination with no qualms from the Vokman. I don't know why." Mask said. "You should know why, shouldn't you?" Bill wondered. "No, I don't. I intend to find out. My intentions are the same as yours." Mask said.

"Well, where to first, my companion?" Bill asked. "Well, I only believe that he came here because of Varlamer tradition. 'It is here you were born; it is here you will die' according to them. He lived at an embassy near Blacklight on Nirn, we can start there." Mask said. "It's a fortune to travel back to Nirn, even more in the capital of Morrowind." Bill commented. "I know a way. Let's go." Mask said. They stand up and walk towards the door, but Bill accidentally trips on Steven.

Mask puts money in front of the Dunmer bartender and leaves. "No pets allowed. That includes people like you." the bartender said to Bill as he stands up. "He's not my pet, he's a doctor." Bill said. He then meets up with Mask, leaning next to Bill's car. "So, what do we do now?" Bill wondered.

Mask holds Bill's shoulder and suddenly warps out of sight, leaving Steven behind. Steven opens the car door with his mandibles and drives away, steering the wheel with his mandibles. The two warps back into existence in front of a beach villa with Dunmer architecture. "Are you okay?" Mask asked. Bill ran towards the sea and vomits heavily.

"I'll take that as a no." Mask commented. Later they approach the front door but finds it locked when Bill tried to turn the doorknob. "Locked. Know a way in?" Bill asked. "Yes." Mask said as he produces a key and unlocks the door. They enter and find expensive furniture and striped blue wallpaper in a living room, and an inactive robot torso in a corner besides a painting.

"We can find possible evidence in the study upstairs." Mask said. Bill looks at the robot and the tattered painting above it, illustrating a family picture of Jirald as a child, his mother and someone who appears to be Mask. "Is that you in the painting?" Bill asked. "No." Mask said as he ascends the stairs. Bill follows Mask while still staring at the painting.

They enter a room with blue wallpaper with a desk and several filing cabinets. "Actually, knowing certain victims from previous cases, I think I'll search the bedroom. There must be something hidden there." Bill said. "Aren't you going to take off that… that?" Mask asked. "I was about to ask you the same thing." Bill replied. They both tear down their respective rooms searching for any evidence until Mask finds a brown envelope from the Vokman.

"Detective, I found something!" Mask exclaimed. "Finally, I was just staring at a painting of a tiny baby worm. So tiny…" Bill said in amusement from the bedroom. Mask opens the envelope and finds a letter in Daedric alphabet with only one word: YES. "What does it mean? Detective, can you trace back mail?" Mask asked. "I'll send it to the lab, they'll know what to do." Bill said from the bedroom, still staring at the painting.

Meanwhile back at Bill's house, Groin-Cruncher is talking with a woman wearing a paper bag over her head, two Imperial men and an Nord man in the living room as Groin-Cruncher's team stood in a corner. "…and that's how I got here with all this cash." Groin-Cruncher concluded his story. "There's no way that happened." A bespectacled obese Imperial with glasses denied. "Say, it's kinda late. Where's Al?" a shorter Imperial man wearing a backwards cap wondered. "Oh, he's just doin' detective stuff." Groin-Cruncher answered.

Bill's car then pulls up at the driveway. "Hey, there he is now." another Imperial commented. They go outside, but find Steven poking his head out of the window. "What's Steven doing here?" the woman wondered. "Steven, did you carjack Bill?" Groin-Cruncher asked Steven.

"You have a grim look." Steven said. "Do you have any other voice lines?!" Groin-Cruncher scolded. "Can you just go find him?" another Imperial asked. "Fine! Show me where you last saw Bill!" Groin-Cruncher commanded. Steven opens the passenger door and Groin-Cruncher enters.

"I'm driving." Groin-Cruncher said to Steven as he shoved him to the side. "Jerry, Snuggles and Platearms, stay here!" Groin-Cruncher commanded the rest of the team, still in the corner. He drives away, not knowing that Harvey is hiding under the back seat, holding a knife in his mouth. Back in Blacklight, Mask is trying to pry Bill away from the painting of the worm. "Come on! We need to find more evidence! I just know there's more to this *GRUNT* letter!" Mask said as he struggled to take Bill away.

He instead reverses the painting so only the back is showing before slapping Bill in the face. "Ow! Sorry, it's just a really nice painting." Bill said as he rubbed his cheek under his shirt-mask. "Now, the suspicious letter?" Mask said. "Where's the nearest post office?" Bill asked. "There's a United Empire Postal Service post office at the village." Mask said as he pointed to the hill in the window.

Later they go to the village post office where they find employees and customers at several desks. They walked over to a desk where a Dunmer employee is sitting. "Hello… sirs. How may I help you?" the Dunmer employee asked awkwardly to the two masked men.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm Detective Bill Breacher of New Moon City Police." Bill introduced himself with his badge raised. "Nevermind me being outside of my jurisdiction, but I'm here to investigate the recent murder of Ambassador Jirald Sul. Know him?" Bill asked. "Jirald? He never had any enemies, despite his position." the employee answered. "We're looking into that. Do you have a record on this envelope?" Bill asked as he handed the employee the envelope. "The last written mail that he received was years ago, in a white envelope." the employee said.

"Have you seen any suspicious looking people around here?" Mask asked. "I rarely get out of the office during work hours. I know someone who definitely does; Jak the Hobo. He wanders around town, mostly at the beach. He's sure to know something out of the ordinary." the employee answered. "Thank you for your cooperation." Bill thanked. They return to the beach where they find an elderly bearded man in ragged clothing walking along the shoreline with an alteration spell in hand. "Excuse me, sir. I'm Detective Breacher, New Moon Police. Have you seen anyone suspicious? Well, besides the two masked men in front of you." Bill asked as he displayed his badge.

"Aye; some guy in a motorcycle suit, never seen his face outside of the helmet. He smelled a lot like pine. He was just here once and left." Jak explained in a weird accent. "Thanks… wait. How close you have to be from the guy to smell the pine?" Bill asked. "Very." Jak said with a smile. "Okay! Goodbye weird person-smelling hobo!" Bill said awkwardly as he runs away. Mask follows Bill back to the embassy, but not before Jak grabs his shoulder.

"He's gonna find out eventually. The truth about you." Jak whispered without his accent. "I don't care. I just want answers." Mask said as he shook him off. Bill and Mask warp back to the Shade Cornerclub to find Bill's car missing. "Where's my car?!" Bill wondered worriedly. "We'll meet again tomorrow. Do what you have to do." said Mask.

A motorcyclist drives by and shoots at them with a machine pistol, only for Mask to tackle Bill to the floor. "It must be the motorcycle man the hobo told us about!" Bill exclaimed. The motorcyclist swerves and dismounts the motorcycle. Mask throws a knife at the motorcyclist and hits him in the chest, but he runs towards the two. Just as the motorcyclist picks both of them up, the Dunmer patrons run out of the cornerclub and tackles the motorcyclist. "Run!" Bill exclaimed as he and Mask stood up.

Not even beginning to pick up speed, they are thrown into a van in an alley and attempts to drive away as Groin-Cruncher arrives and sees the patrons backing away from the motorcyclist's body, blocking the alley. "Hey, what's going on here?" Groin-Cruncher asked a nearby Dunmer man through the passenger window. "Someone attacked a weird guy wearing cloth over his entire face and a fellow regular. When we unmasked him, he was a Vokman puppet!" a patron answered. "Did you see where the two went?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "Nah, they just up and disappeared the other way." the patron answered.

The patrons walk away, letting the van through, but Harvey discreetly jumps out of the car and onto on the rear bumper of the van as it emerges from the alley in front of the car. Two men in purple fedoras and suits tie up Bill and Mask. "We need a word with you." one of them said. A few hours later they arrive at a warehouse at wharf. As they parked the van, Harvey jumps off and jumps into a broken window.

The two men escort Bill and Mask into the warehouse by a door at the side. They find animated tall mannequins accompanied by more men in purple inside the warehouse guarding vans and weapons. They enter a cage elevator and descend. "Goin' down an elevator with some guy! Getting the feelin' that we're gonna die!" Bill sung. They reach the bottom of the shaft; a hallway lined with steel doors, almost like a prison.

They walk along the hallway as Harvey looks at them from the top of the elevator. One of the men open a vacant cell and pushes them inside and locking them in. "What would they want from us?" Bill wondered. The two men guard the door and one of them hears a meow coming from the elevator.

"How did a cat get in here?" one guard wondered. "Just check it out." said the other guard. The guard walks towards the meowing, inside an open cell. "I didn't remember opening another cell." the guard said, confused. He enters the cell and searches inside.

Harvey climbs onto the guard's back and stabs him in the mouth. The other guard hears the gurgled screams and cocks his pistol. He finds the body of the other guard and is immediately stabbed by Harvey, again in the mouth. Harvey takes the keys from one of the guards and holds it in his mouth simultaneously with the knife. "What happened out there?" Bill wondered. Harvey puts the key on the lock and turns it with his mouth as he sat on the door's bar.

Harvey pushes the door and meows at Bill. "Harvey! What'cha doin' here?" Bill said to Harvey in a babying voice. "This cat rescued us? Are you sure he's not an Alfiq?" Mask asked. "It doesn't matter. We need to leave, now!" Bill said. They head for the elevator as fast as they can. "There's an armoury here, just above this floor. We can't just go through these guys without weapons, decent ones at least." said Bill as he looked at the labelled buttons.

They ascend one floor up to the armoury; a short hallway with a vault door at the end. "Damn mobsters. How are we supposed to get in?" Mask wondered as Bill puts his ear to the door.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

He turns the vault wheel in different directions and manages to unlock it. "Let's go and find some weapons." Bill said confidently as he rubs his ear. They enter the armoury, finding guns of different types, most notably a gun that appeared to be made out of advanced technology inside a glass case at the end of the room. Bill equips himself with a bulletproof vest and a submachine gun, only to break the glass case with said gun to get the weapon. "A few months ago, a break-in occurred at a military research lab upstate. Lots of these were reported stolen. Looks like we know who the perpetrators are." Bill said to Mask.

"Where are the others then?" Mask wondered. "There were about thirty of these stolen. I think they might have been distributed to other Vokman hideouts." Bill speculated. "Are you sure we can get past all of them? We're only two people and a cat! What can we do?" Mask wondered. "I have an idea." Bill said. He takes out a notebook and pencil from his pocket and writes on it.

He tears out the paper and crouches down to Harvey. "Find the nearest police station Harvey. Get help." Bill instructed Harvey. Harvey picks up the note with his mouth and heads outside to the elevator shaft. "We're definitely doomed." Mask said in disappointment. When the elevator arrives to the floor, a large, ash-black mannequin walks out as Harvey steps on and ascends.

Bill sees the mannequin and scrambles across the floor to find ammunition. Mask slams the door shut and uses some kind of fire spell to weld it shut. "I'm pretty sure that mannequin was made out of Skyrim ironwood. Hurry up and find whatever this gun needs!" Mask hurried as the mannequin repeatedly punches the door. Harvey arrives on the ground floor, walking past the mobsters and mannequins towards the open cargo door. He exits the warehouse and heads towards the lit street.

As he walked north along the sidewalk, a familiar brown car pulls up next to a phone booth. "Are you sure he's here? The Harbor's miles away from that cornerclub." Groin-Cruncher asked Steven inside the car. Steven crawls out of the window and approaches Harvey who hisses at him, dropping the note. "Steven! What are you doing with that cat?! I swear if you eat him I will send you to… oh wait, the Rave Club's not a real thing." Groin-Cruncher scolded Steven. Steven picks up the note as Harvey paws at him aggressively.

Steven crawls back to Groin-Cruncher and gives him the note. "What's this?" Groin-Cruncher wondered as he opened up the note.

* * *

"Theres a mob hideout at New Moon Harbor. I don't know which one, but it's in along Edgewater St near sandy hook pilots.

From, Detective Breacher" read the note.

* * *

"'Detective Breacher' as in Bill? I need to get this to the police!" Groin-Cruncher thought in concern. He and Steven drive away as Harvey walked back to the warehouse. Meanwhile in the vault, the mannequin punctures the door and tears it apart. Bill shoots the mannequin with the gun and it disintegrates into ash. "Either they have some floor patrols or it was sent by someone directly. I really hope the cat actually got backup." Mask deduced.

They waited for an hour in the vault, taking shifts guarding the now-broken door until they heard an explosion from upstairs. "What was that?" Bill wondered, who was sleeping against a shelf. Upstairs, a S.W.A.T. team of people, Dwarven spheres and two tank-sized ballistae breach the warehouse door, alerting the mob inside. Several mobsters conjure four ironwood mannequins which fuse into a mannequin the size of a Dwarven centurion. The two ballistae fire rockets at the mannequin's arms, charring it and leaving the arms with a skeletal appearance.

Bill and Mask run towards the elevator, Bill mashing the "Ground Floor" button repeatedly. Mask spies a button labelled "Astrosub Dock" between their floor's button and a button labelled "Barracks". He smacks Bill's hands away and presses the button. "What was that for?!" Bill asked angrily. "Wait for me up top! I've seen too many spy movies to know that the villain escapes in a submarine." Mask explained.

They arrive at a dark underground dock where a submarine-like vehicle begins sinking into the water. Mask runs towards it as Bill resumes his ascent to the ground floor. He sees a firefight between the police in front of the doors and the mobsters, hiding behind the legless remains of their giant mannequin. He aims and shoots one of the mages from behind, disintegrating him. The other mages take notice and some of them fire upon him with a hail of bullets.

He hides behind the wooden legs and returns fire, missing and disintegrating a van. Meanwhile in the submarine, Mask fights through pine mannequins armed with submachine guns inside the craft. He disarms one and hits another on the head with the gun's stock. He shoots approaching mannequins with the gun as he uses one of the fallen mannequins as a shield. As he moves closer he throws the mannequin at them and charges past.

He arrives at the bridge where he is met by more mannequins and an elderly Breton with neck-length hair wearing black robes. "You've come very far to find me. What is it that you want? Justice, glory, or is it something else?" the Breton asked. "I want answers! What did Jirald tell you?!" Mask demanded. The Breton changes his expression from a sinister smirk to a surprised face. "He… he told me not to tell. Otherwise they'll come for me too." the Breton said worriedly.

"Who are you talking about?!" Mask demanded angrily as he aimed his gun at him, the mannequins preparing to pull their triggers. "Okay, but you have to promise that you'll have the police get me into a maximum security prison." the Breton requested. "Very well. Tell me." Mask agreed as he lowered his weapon.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay, He told me…" the Breton was about to explain before the hull was breached with water. They are swept away by the water and are pinned towards the wall. Mask grabs the Breton before swimming out of the breach. On the surface, the S.W.A.T. team are escorting the mobsters to armoured cars as an unmasked Bill holds Harvey while sitting on the harbour's edge. The Imperial Sergeant of the team approaches Bill.

"Are you alright, Detective?" the Sergeant asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Have you seen anyone wearing white chitin armour?" Bill asked as he strokes Harvey. "No. I'm sorry, we haven't." the Sergeant answered. Mask emerges from the water carrying the unconscious Breton. He swims towards the dock the some S.W.A.T. personnel spot him.

"Sir, we have spotted someone in the water carrying a Vokman member." one of the personnel informed the Sergeant. S.W.A.T. personnel pull them up from a dock and carry the Breton to the Sergeant as Mask limps towards Bill. "Mask! Are you alright?" Bill asked worriedly to Mask as he puts down Harvey. "Well, I fought through dozens of animated mannequins and almost drowned in an astrosub bridge, I'd say I'm doing okay." Mask replied, catching his breath. "This man you brought is Joseph Garrison; New Moon's Vokman boss! How did you…?" the Sergeant asked Mask before being interrupted.

"He surrendered willingly. I was helping Detective Breacher in the investigation of the assassination of the Ambassador Jirald Sul and ended up here. I chased him though an astrosub to ask him about the hit, but he would only tell me if he would be detained in a maximum security prison. He was about to tell me but then the hull burst and we almost drowned. It can't be a coincidence that the hull burst just as he was about to tell Me." Mask explained. "Thank you. You've done a great service to the city." the Sergeant saluted Mask. "I need to get back to my place; I have a lot of stuff to do. Got videos to make and games to play." Bill said as he picked up Harvey. "Can I get a ride back to Lunar Heights?" Mask requested. "Okay." Bill agreed.

They walk towards Bill's car, where Groin-Cruncher and Steven are waiting inside. "Who's this, Bill?" Groin-Cruncher asked Bill. "He's helping with work." Bill answered. "Also, move aside, this is my car." he added, pushing Groin-Cruncher away from the driver's door. Steve and Mask sit at the back, Groin-Cruncher on the front passenger seat next to Bill.

Soon after they arrive at Lunar Heights. "Thanks again for helping Me." Mask thanked Bill as he stepped out of the car. "This isn't over yet. We still need to find out why the Ambassador wanted himself killed. I'll see you soon." Bill said. Mask enters the apartment as Bill drives away. "Bill. Please. Do not drag me into this." Groin-Cruncher begged.

"No promises." Bill replied. "You have a grim look." Steven commented. The next day, Bill is recording himself playing a video game. "Hey, Bill. I'm going out to see the city. Want anything?" Groin-Cruncher asked. "Nah, I'm fine." Bill answered.

Groin-Cruncher goes downstairs as Bill's phone rings. "Shut up Phone!" he yelled. The ringing persisted and eventually Bill picked up the phone. "What do you want?!" Bill asked angrily. "The case?" asked Mask from the phone.

"Can that wait a little? I'm doing some work. I'm balancing three jobs." Bill whined. "Aren't you going to interrogate him?" Mask asked. "Look, I have a lot on my plate. I got detective stuff, I got to reach my box quota and I need to make YouWire videos. That's a lot. What about I send you instead?" Bill asked. "How?" Mask asked. "What phone are you using?" asked Bill.

"An Akaviri phone; Enrich Incorporated EI-VII. Why do you ask?" Mask asked. "Compatibility reasons. I'll send you an I.D. and the precinct address. G'bye!" Bill said before hanging up. "Breacher? Hello, hello?" Mask said as he tried to get Bill's attention. Outside his apartment, he looks at his phone's screen and finds map marker sent to him. He pulls a keypad from below the screen and calls a taxi.

Later at a police station, Mask disembarks a green taxi in front of the building and enters it. As he enters, he is met by a Moon Elf officer. "Excuse me, sir. Do you have authorisation to enter here? We are conducting interrogations of very dangerous criminals." the officer asked. He opens his phone as shows his I.D. from Bill. "You're with Breacher? Where is he?" the officer asked.

"He's busy with other stuff. He sent me in his stead." Mask explained. "Well, head right in." the officer gestured inside. Mask walks in as he passes officers at desk and spies a holding cell with Vokman members until he reaches the interrogation room where a Breton detective is interrogating Joseph. He opens the door to talk with the detective. "What is it now?" the Detective asked, annoyed.

Mask displays his I.D. to the Detective. "You're with Breacher? I'm sorry, but I'm already interrogating Dad here. "Dad?" Mask said, confused. "Yeah, he's my dad. Despite our relationship, I haven't got a single word out of him aside from my job. Maybe you'll do better." the Detective said as he leaves the room. Mask locks the door and sits down in front of Joseph.

"So… you're a criminal and your son is a cop?" Mask asked awkwardly. "I divorced. My and my late ex-wife shared him, I got Turdas to Loredas." Joseph explained. "Now… about the hit." Mask began. "Are you sure we're safe here?" Joseph asked. "Just tell me already." Mask demanded impatiently. "Alright. When Jirald sent me the letter I thought he wanted cut himself loose. But there was one word that caught my eye: Sybandis." Joseph explained. "Aren't those guys a myth?" Mask asked. "No, they're definitely real. The Vokman are their rivals, more or less." Joseph added.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

"Did the letter say anything else?" Mask asked. "Nah, just instructions and money, 'bout a few million." Joseph answered. "What do you know about this 'Sybandis'?" Mask asked. "They believe in a world predating Nirn called 'Sybandis', their namesake. They believe that life's a test to stay still, a test in which we apparently failed. So they just try to kill everybody so they can send their souls to Sybandis. Legends say that their leader has stars for eyes, and thus can see into Aetherius." Joseph explained. "Well, that's not the weirdest thing I've heard Thank you for your cooperation." Mask thanked before leaving the room.

He approached the Detective and said "I hope you got all that. I'll inform Breacher.", before walking away. He stands outside and texts Bill. "I got some info on the hit. Apparently some group called the cult of sybandis were after Jirald." he typed on his keypad. "Sybandis? I haven't heard that for a long time. The last time I heard of that was from the murder of an engineer from TAAA." Bill replied. "How did you know the cult was involved?" Mask asked.

"We found a card with a grey eye and something about an unblinking eye of unborn Nirn." Bill replied. "Did the engineer have any significance?" Mask asked. "He was working on some aurbis station in Kynareth's orbit." Bill replied. "What did it have on it?" Mask asked. "TAAA wouldn't say." Bill answered.

"Is it still active?" Mask asked. "You can still see it from a telescope but TAAA hasn't said anything yet." Bill replied. "Some guys are escorting Garrison out. Ttyl" Mask wrote. He approaches Garrison and two Nord and Maormer officers escorting him. "Excuse me, Officers. I'm with Detective Breacher, and I'm here to see to it that Joseph Garrison is transferred safely." Mask introduced himself, displaying his I.D.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure we got this." the Nord officer insisted. "Dude, this guy single-handedly stole a mini daedrium reactor back in nineteen-fifty-six! We need all the help we can get." the Maormer officer rebutted. "Officers, the only danger isn't him, but something from that T.A.A.A. engineer murder; the Cult of Sybandis." Mask said. "That's just a legend from the old stories!" the Nord Officer said in disbelief. "When you've lived this long in my line of work, you find out that some legends are very real." said Joseph.

"We all to agree on one thing: he needs to go to jail." Mask said. Just then, the Maormer officer is shot in the knee with a bullet and collapses. "Sniper!" the Nord officer yelled. They hide behind the armoured van, the Nord officer dragging the Maormer with them. Mask then pulls out a scoped pistol from his jacket. "You got a license for that?" the officer asked. "Standard-issue for all House Sul bodyguards; a Beretta modified SulTech Smart Scope." Mask bragged. He walks behind the van sneakily and aims the scope at the sniper, the scope jerking the pistol in position. He shoots the hooded sniper on the rooftop at the side of the head with deadly accuracy. "I think he's gone now!" Mask announced as he stood up. Officers climb the fire escape up to the roof and find nothing aside from blood, bullet shells, and the sniper rifle.

"There's nobody here! They're gone!" an Argonian officer yelled to Detective Garrison. "*POINTS TO MASK AND OFFICER* You two! Get him in the van and drive! Now!" Detective Garrison commanded the Nord officer. Mask drags Joseph into the back as the Nord Officer enters the driver's seat. "Why are you coming? I told you what you need to know." Joseph asked as the van starts moving. "Once I make a promise, I keep it. I'm making sure you're locked up." Mask answered.

"Ain't That kind of you." Joseph commented sarcastically. Within a few hours they drive north to a town where the prison is located. "We're almost there. It's a miracle that we weren't attacked on the way." the officer commented. They drive up to the waterfront prison where armed guards are waiting for them. They disembark and hand Joseph over to them before being attacked by five Vokman mages throwing smoke bombs.

One of the mages throws a mannequin at the armed guards close to Joseph as Mask and the officer walk away from the smoke. "We're here to rescue you, Mister Garrison!" a mage said. "No! This wasn't supposed to happen! Sybandis are after me! There's no other choice than a prison! Now let me go!" Joseph exclaimed as he runs towards the prison where two guards are fending off the mages. "Let me in! Let me in!" Joseph yelled in panic. "You actually want to be in here?" one of the guards asked in confusion.

"Just get me to a cell already!" Joseph demanded. As the guard lowers his weapon and escorts Joseph inside, the other guard is shot in the shoulder and collapses. The other five mages are then shot almost simultaneously within the smoke. "Not again!" the officer exclaimed. Behind Mask and the oddicer, the smoke is sucked into an industrial vacuum, revealing Bill clad in a jumpsuit and covered in paper cuts.

"Hello everyone, Banana… Oh my god why is it so windy?!" Bill exclaimed in pain as the wind touches his thin wounds. A bullet hits his car behind him and he flees behind the van where the officer and Mask are hiding. "Wow, what happened to you?" Mask and the Officer asked simultaneously. "Long story short: I was attacked by living boxes. I'll tell you later." Bill answered. "How did you find us?" Mask asked.

"I got concerned and had my hacker friend, In, to track your phone. Those Enrich guys sure do have good firewall technologies." Bill explained. "In? Didn't he almost leak the employee files two years ago?" the officer wondered. "First thing's first. We need to take out the sniper." Bill said as he conjured a sniper rifle.

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

"Where did that come from?" the officer wondered. "Shut up!" Bill silenced him as he tries to mount it above the van. "Uh… a little help here?" Bill requested. Mask piggybacks Bill on his shoulders for him to look through the scope. He doesn't see anyone as he looks around with his scope. "I don't see anyone." Bill said.

Just as he finished his sentence, the grey hooded assassin climbs on top of the van with a dagger and lashes out at Bill. "Oh god!" Bill yelled in surprise, knocking him and Mask off balance. The assassin jumps down, but the officer knocks him out with his gun. "Didn't see that coming, did ya?" the officer taunted. "Now let's see who's behind the mask." Bill said in pain. He removes the hood, but the person inside disappears, leaving their clothes. "Just as I thought: Air! But in all seriousness where did he go?" he wondered in surprise.

"He might've teleported, turned intangible, or some freaky Sybandis magic we don't know of." Mask guessed. "What if the clothes are like those Vokman mannequins: animated humanoid objects?" the officer wondered. "I'll call in C.S.I., you two just get back to the station." Bill ordered Mask and the officer. They return to the van and drive away as Bill held the assassin's clothing while putting his phone to his ear. "This is Detective Breacher. My partner, an officer and I were attacked at outside the Rockriver Prison by some guy in a grey hoodie. I need C.S.I. and an ambulance with at least five… no, four body bags." Bill requested. Later, police cars and an ambulance arrive at the prison where Bill is standing near his car.

Detective Garrison exits one of the cars and meets Bill. "What happened to you?" Detective Garrison wondered as he looked at Bill's cuts. "I was attacked by animate boxes at my other job." Bill answered nonchalantly. "Sorry I asked. Is my dad safe?" Detective Garrison asked. "Yeah, the warden informed me that he's dressed in orange a while ago." Bill answered.

"What happened to the attacker?" Detective Garrison asked. Bill hands the grey clothes to Detective Garrison. "When one of our officers knocked him out, his clothes collapsed to the ground with no sign of the attacker himself." Bill explained. "So he vanished into thin air?" Detective Garrison wondered. "Or maybe he wasn't there at all. Don't know what to expect with these Sybandis guys." Bill added.

"The Cult of Sybandis is behind this?" Detective Garrison wondered. "Maybe. We don't have much proof other than your dad's word." Bill said. "Well, he might be a little crazy but he was honest, a bit too honest if you asked me. What did he say about the cult?" Detective Garrison asked. "According to Mask, he said they were after our victim." Bill answered. "Who's Mask?" Detective Garrison asked.

"He's the guy that came into the station with permission from me. Bonemold helmet, black jacket, you can't miss him. A while ago he texted me about the interrogation just before you guys arrived." Bill explained. "Say, can I see if the ambulance has something for my cuts?" Bill asked. Meanwhile at the crime lab, the Khajiit scientist is analysing the blood sample from the sniper across the station. He places the blood sample under a microscope and finds not blood cells, but small red machines that are joined together in a lattice. "Strange…" he commented. He zooms in and finds a logo of the Divayth Fyr Foundation: an emperor mushroom surrounded by the symbols α, β, δ, and υ.

"What does D.F.T. have to do with this?" the scientist wondered. The next day, Bill sends Groin-Cruncher to the airport with the absence of his team. They stop at the front entrance among the green and yellow taxis. "Well, it's been great seeing you even though we only had a total of like five hours of interaction total." Groin-Cruncher said as he holds the door handle. He leaves the car with baggage in hand and walks away.

As Bill drives away he receives a call from "Garrison" on his phone mounted on the dashboard. "Detective Breacher, we have analysed the blood from the sniper and the clothes. We found out that they are experimental nanomachines manufactured by the Divayth Fyr Foundation. The clothes were lined with the stuff, allowing autonomy." Detective Garrison explained. "Do they harden in response to physical trauma?" Bill asked. "No, just when they're active." Detective Garrick replied. "Just like me." Bill joked in a forced deep voice voice.

"What the hell, Bill. We're contacting the I.B.I. for the investigation. Also, we looked into your investigation. How did you get from Masser to Morrowind that fast?" the caller asked. "A friend warped me there." Bill replied. "By Stendarr, you need to learn a thing about jurisdictions. We can't have you being chewed out by the Ibs again." Detective Garrison scolded. "This was the first time since my transfer. A bodyguard doesn't understand the laws of police investigations. I just hope Dave or the Suls will pardon me. So what should I do now? Any other leads?" Bill asked. "None for now." Detective Garrison replied.

"Great! See ya." said Bill before abruptly hanging up. Later in the headquarters and main research lab of the Divayth Fyr Foundation, a Breton detective and several officers enter a lab with scientists and spindly red automatons that resemble stick figures with fluid-like textures. The Detective and officers approach one of the scientists in front of a red puddle. "Don't worry, this isn't blood." the masked Dunmer scientist assured them. "We know. That's exactly why we're here. We found a hooded jacket, a pair of jeans and shoes with the nanomachines between the fibres. Upon further inspection they individually were embossed with your logo." said the detective.

"But that's impossible; we have the finest security from here to the moons." the scientist said. "Care to explain what this stuff is?" the detective said.

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

"This is Project Red. We're developing nanomachines that can be used as a blood substitute, but better. On top of regular functions of blood cells they can heal wounds, repair nerves, and as you saw just now combine into a single object. The last part's a little buggy." the scientist explained. "The nanomachines did the same thing with the clothes. They also attempted to assassinate a prisoner before and after a prison transport." the detective summarised. "That means someone must be controlling them. They can't move outside of programmed actions. So far, we can communicate with them wirelessly, but only at a short distance." the scientist explained. "Do you have a database of individual units or batches?" the detective asked. "Only the older ones. They didn't fare well during testing… or anyone who went near them." the scientist said.

"Do you keep track of the new ones?" the detective asked. "We dropped the tracking system. We can only fit so much onto these machines. However, their frequency can be traced when they are active." the scientist said. "Anything else we should know?" asked the Detective. "Nothing of note, no." said the scientist. "Mind if I question your partners?" the detective asked.

"Not at all. But, trust me; we are the most reliable scientists in Tamriel, in skill and trust." the scientist said. "Uh huh, gotcha." The detective doubted. He and the officers question each scientist in the room, but find no other leads. "We'll need to check on their alibis, but for now they're clean." the detective discussed to the other officers. "What about the janitor?" one of the officers suggested.

"Okay, then we'll pay a visit to the janitor's closet." the detective said. Later they make their way to the floor's janitor closet, labelled "Janitor" with a faded sign plate on the door. They enter and find a Dunmer man with long white hair in a khaki jumpsuit lying on a couch with his cap covering his face. "Yes, who is it?" the janitor asked as he got up. "We're from the I.B.I. and we need to know if you knew anything about the experiments going on in this wing." the detective answered.

The Janitor then stands up and says "All I know is that they're making robo-blood, that's it." the janitor said in an annoyed tone. "Have you seen the experiments yourself?" the detective asked. "Yes, I did. Some weird red stick people, but real." the janitor answered. "Did you see anyone or anything unusual?" the detective asked. "I did find an unusually large pool of blood in the lab.." the janitor answered.

"What did you do with it?" asked the detective in increasing concern. "I did what any janitor does; mop it up." the Janitor answered. "How long ago was this?" the detective asked. "That was about three days ago." the janitor answered. "When did you drain the water?" the detective asked.

"How is that important?" the janitor asked in confusion. "We believe that you accidentally mopped up the nanomachines by mistake." the detective deduced. "I drained the water yesterday into the sink. The filters for the pipes going out of this place should have netted anything unusual. By Azura I will not hear the end of it from Mister Bagarn when he finds out." the janitor said. "Can you lead us to the sewers?" the detective requested. The Janitor opens a hatch on the far side of the room, next to his couch and climbs down.

The detective snaps his fingers and conjures a candlelight. They follow the janitor down the hatch and find a damp, dark tunnel lined with dimly-lit waterproof lights. "Not again. Sorry about the lighting, most of the facility's energy goes into whatever crazy experiments they're doing, despite having a daedrium reactor. I'm not a genius, but that probably means they have like, unlimited energy." the janitor commented. They walk until they see a small elevated control room near a large, fine sewer grate covering the diameter of the tunnel. "That's the filter station. They built it just in case if any pathogens or other foreign objects make their way into the sewer." the janitor explained.

The janitor presses the forehead of his cap and a small rune on it projects a beam of light. He steps into the murky water and walks towards the grate. He inspects the grate closely as the Detective signals the officers to go to the control room. "So, why is this sewer so damn big?" the detective wondered. "This place was built in the eighteen-hundreds, so the sewers are unusually big. We then modified it to it wouldn't fall apart from the discarded experiments. Have you seen liquid bricks before? No, wait that's just clay." the janitor explained.

"Sir, we don't know how to use this." one of the officered summoned the detective. The Janitor switches off his light and walks towards the control room's ladder. The Detective follows him as they climb the ladder. They officers look at a bulky monitor with decades-old technology attached. "How long have you been working here?" the Detective asked the janitor.

"About a hundred years." the Janitor answered. "I assume you know how to operate this?" the detective wondered. "I installed this baby myself." the Janitor boasted as he approached the machine. He sat down on the chair in front of the monitor and started typing. "It says here that the nanomachines were here, but was removed manually two days ago at eight-thirty-six at night. Lemme bring up the security footage." the janitor examined.

The Janitor closed the program and entered another program with nine screens of live footage from different cameras, two displaying only static. "They were smart. They busted the cameras from here and the only other external exit here. You need a map?" the janitor asked. "We already have you." the Detective said. Later, they walk up to a gate door at the end of the tunnel that has been rusted shut all around the frame.

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

"This hasn't been used since the early facility was built. It should have been so rusty that it would be impossible for someone to open." the janitor commented. "We're getting C.S.I. over here." the detective informed the janitor. Meanwhile on Masser, Bill is recording videos on his computer when suddenly he hears a loud thud from downstairs. "Who's there?" Bill shouted as he takes off his headphones. He runs downstairs and sees a black and white cat hissing at Mask.

"What are you doing here?" Bill wondered. "I found something. Also, can you get your cat away from me?" Mask requested. Bill attempts to pick up the cat but it runs out the open door. "What did you find?" Bill asked. "I believe the Cult of Sybandis has a secret temple along Hudson River. I need your help to investigate." Mask answered.

"What makes you think it's a secret temple?" Bill wondered. "I saw some people in grey robes. On the back was an eye; their insignia." Mask explained. "Why are you only going to me then and not the police?" Mask wondered. "I need you to tell the police about it. They might not believe me, but they'll definitely believe you despite your descent into madness." Mask justified. "Descen–okay, very well. Where is the temple?" Bill asked as he takes his phone out of his pocket.

"Put the phone away. We need to contact your unit directly. I'll tell you when we get to the station." Mask said. "Let me guess; the Cult have ties to the T.S.A. and will know we're coming if we discuss this over the phone." said Bill. "That or they have a very good hacker or two. That's probably how they knew about the warehouse. They must have tapped into the police radio and sent someone to blow up the hull of the astrosub." Mask deduced. "There was an astrosub?" Bill wondered. "Let's just go already!" Mask exclaimed as he grabbed Bill's arm.

He drags Bill outside to a black motorcycle with a black half-helmet on the seat. Mask mounts the bike and hands the spare helmet to Bill. "Have you ridden a motorcycle before?" Mask asked. "A few times, yeah." Bill replied as he puts on the helmet. "We need to look into the place more; I need solid evidence that they're the Cult." he says as he mounts the motorcycle and holds on to Mask.

Meanwhile under the Divayth Fyr Foundation Headquarters, a C.S.I. team surrounds the abandoned entrance to the sewer. A forensic scientist approaches the detective with a bag containing a piece of grey cloth. "Detective, we found that the door has been kicked open. The strange thing is that it should have been impossible for somebody to do that with a door this rusty." the scientist explained. "What if it was a conjured Daedra?" the detective suggested.

"The footprints we found belonged to a pair of gumboots." said the scientist. "Did you find anything from the perpetrator themselves? Skin flakes, hair, anything?" the detective asked. "We did find a shred of cotton fabric, presumably from their clothing. We managed to recover the memory card from the destroyed cameras, but they still show nothing. Another odd thing is that the cameras were destroyed by a blunt object at close range, but were mounted twelve feet from the ground. We didn't find any residual magicka that would suggest levitation." the scientist explained. "What if they jumped really high?" the detective hypothesized. "Huh… we didn't think about that. We'll search the area below the cameras for any heavy prints." the scientist said.

On Masser, they drive along a bridge spanning a river and overlooking a vintage carousel, encased in a small glass building close to the river. "There it is." Mask spied at the carousel. "Jane's Carousel?" Bill wondered in doubt. "Yes, I saw three men in grey robes coming here." Mask confirmed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Bill said enthusiastically.

They park outside the park where the carousel is located and walk towards the antique. "We're supposed to be looking for some kind of hatch or something. Where would it be?" Bill wondered. "Found it!" Mask yelled. Bill runs to Mask and finds him descending from a hole with a concrete hatch next to the carousel. Bill follows and they find an ancient hall at the bottom, lit with glowing grey torches.

They see a figure, heavily clad in concealing robes, walking across from another hall. They quickly hide behind a pillar. "Do you know how to sneak stealthily?" Mask whispered. "I'm a detective; I work like this." Bill answered boastingly. They wait for the figure to walk away and then they sneak further into the temple.

"Don't you have any invisibility spells?" Mask asked. "Don't you?" Bill asked as he fades from visibility. They walk along the long hall until they reach the end; a shrine. The room was circular, dark, and in the middle stood a statue of a stone eye with cultists worshipping it. Bill reappears and takes a picture with his phone.

He examines the photo and only sees vague shapes in darkness. "Damn it, it's too dark. We'll have to get closer." Bill said in concern. "Can't you brighten it?" Mask asked. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. We almost got ourselves killed. We need to scout out the rest of the place." Bill planned. "Isn't the photo enough?" Mask asked.

"No. We need hard evidence, like documents and… documents… Let's just look around. I'll check over to the east wing and you'll check the west." Bill instructed. They split up, sneaking into the halls opposite each other. Bill finds himself in what appears to be barracks, with bunk beds against the walls and study desks. Mask narrowly evades the sight of a cultist whilst sneaking. He sneaks past the cultist and finds himself in a room with computers, guns, body armour; an armoury, and a glass tank filled with blood-red liquid.

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

He locks the door and takes pictures of the room before sitting in front of the computer. He is greeted by an ancient operating system with a wallpaper of a rolling hill. "Windows X.P., that's really old. Let's see what they have in here…" he thought. He goes to the file explorer and looks under the documents category. Several files listed were, "members", "inventory", and "commands".

He opens "commands" and finds documents listed in ascending date order. He looks through all of them, each one more disturbing than the last. He then finds the document dated and titled "5/7/16" and opens it. "*MUMBLING*… steal keys, kill if necessary…" he read. He takes out his phone with a cord attached to it and inserts the U.S.B. end to the ancient C.P.U., copying the document into his phone.

He unlocks the door and finds Bill behind it with a lock picking kit. "Oh hey, did you find anything?" Bill asked. "Yes, I found a message from their higher-ups to kill the engineer. They needed some key of sorts." Mask explained. "I found socks. Also some burnt dead bodies, several high end computers with hacking programs, and a police radio. No biggie." Bill said. "We need to gather the police here." Mask suggested.

"I've been itching for a raid. Playing New Vegas has been fun but I liked using real guns." Bill commented. They sneak back to the ladder, once again avoiding the cultists. As Bill climbs, a chunk of the ceiling falls off and hits his head. "Ow!" he yelled in pain. "Quiet, you'll alert them." Mask warned as he poked his head upside-down from the surface.

Bill scrambles up the ladder and closes the hatch. They run back to the motorcycle and drive away off. They reach the station where Bill is stationed. They run inside for Bill to purposefully crash into Detective Garrison as he entered an elevator. "Breacher, what in Oblivion is wrong with you other than your countless violations?!" Detective Garrison scolded.

"We found 'em! We found the cult!" Bill answered as Mask entered the elevator before the door closes. "Wait, what?" Detective Garrison said in confusion. "We managed to find a temple of the Cult of Sybandis. They're located underneath Jane's Carousel in Jodebrook Bridge Park. We found evidence that they were behind several assassinations since the last turn of the century." Mask explained. "I find that very hard to believe. Then again, I am working with Bill the Breacher; the scourge of thugs and lollygaggers in this side of Masser." Detective Garrick said first in doubt before he accepts their story. "Say, is this elevator even going up?" Bill wondered.

The doors open to reveal the officers staring at them, most notably a young Nord man with long, neatly-combed, long hair, wearing a light blue short-sleeved dress shirt and black pants, and carrying a box of files. "Afternoon… Kjeld, was it?" Detective Garrison greeted awkwardly. "Kjeld Card-Juggler, that's my name. Are you going up?"Kjeld wondered. "Yeah. Fourth floor." Bill answered. Kjeld enters the elevator and presses the "4" button, closing the doors and ascending. They stand silently as Mask looks at Kjeld.

"Nice helmet. Is that a replica?" Kjeld wondered. "A faithful one at that." Mask answered. "Ever play Vosh Lake? The one with the sticks and the rink? I got a few vosh masks at home." Kjeld asked. "I don't play sports, unless you count archery." Mask answered. "I hate to tell you this, but it's the Fifth Era." Kjeld joked.

"I'm seven-hundred-and-two years old. I can play whatever old-timey I damn please." Mask hissed back. "Kjeld, can you shut up for once?" Detective Garrison scolded Kjeld. They arrive on the fourth floor where several detectives are working at their desks and officers escorting criminals to the holding cell and other miscellaneous work. "Hey cap'n!" Bill yelled at the top of his lungs, garnering the attentions of absolutely everyone in the room. "What is it now, Breacher?" a Moon Elf woman in a white police uniform approached the elevator as Bill, Mask, Kjeld, and Detective Garrick step out.

"I'm gonna go to the file room." Kjeld said as he walked away to avoid being caught between Bill and the captain's wrath. "The case with the ambassador, I know where and who the killer is." Bill informed the captain. "You mean Sybandis? I'm not gonna lie, your explanations are ludicrous but right." the captain admitted. "Also, who's this?" she asked Bill, looking at Mask. "My newest companion–I mean lead. He was the bodyguard of the victim." Bill explained.

"Come into my office. The elevator is no place to discuss this. You too, Garrison." the captain demanded as she crossed her arms. They walk to the captain's office at the end of the room. It was small, consisting of simply her desk with a nameplate "Capt. Erin Sardro", a shelf of books and awards behind it, a lounge opposite the desk, and a flag pole with a flag depicting Masser and Secunda over a blue background. "Helmet guy, sit here. Garrison, sit back on the couch." Captain Sardro instructed Mask and Garrison.

Bill and Mask sat down on two chairs in front of the captain. Mask presents his phone's camera roll as Bill does his. Captain Sardro picks up Mask's phone and looks at it with a confused look as she pulled down the keypad. "Is this a smartphone with a keypad?" she asked Mask. "It's Akaviri." Mask replied.

She looks through the photos of the temple, looking surprised and scared at the sight of certain images. "There are some documents in there. Gimme a sec." Mask said as he retrieved his phone and opened a file in it before presenting it to the captain who reads through it. "Detective Garrison, Breacher, you have my permission to assemble a raid for tonight. Avoid using the police radio." Captain Sardro instructed. "Yes, captain." they acknowledged. From behind a trashcan hid a small microphone spying on the conversation.

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

In a dark closet, Kjeld monitors the conversation in the captain's office. He takes out his phone and texts an encrypted number. "Gia, the mic in in place." Kjeld informed the recipient. "I'm hacking their devices remotely now. Thanks KC." the mysterious recipient replied, thanking Kjeld. Later that night, the S.W.A.T. arrives at the park and approaches the carousel's hatch.

The officers climb down one-by-one and find not a lit hallway, but instead darkness. "Detective, you said they had grey-glowing torches?" a Nord officer clad in riot armour asked Bill, who was sneaking next to him. "Yeah, were they expecting us?" Bill wondered, also in riot armour. They light their flashlights on their guns and find the floor covered in unconscious cultists with their hands and ankles tied. "What the f…" Bill said worriedly as he moved his gun upwards to the ceiling.

They find graffiti of a turtle shell on the ceiling, quarters of it coloured in blue, pink, yellow, and black. "The Shellbacks are at it again." the Nord police officer commented in relief. "They make this too easy." Bill commented. As they go through the halls they find more bound cultists and eventually find the shrine, with a cultist stuck to the statue with rope. Bill goes to inspect the cultist and removed their hood.

The cultist is an elderly Imperial with fresh cuts on his face. Bill puts his finger to his neck to check his pulse. "He's still alive. Check the rest of the place." he commanded. As the officers leave, a lone ant worker crawls on the cultist's nose. "*GASP* Mr. Bubskins! How are you? Did you find your son?" Bill asked the ant.

The ant stays silent. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you see the Shellbacks fight?" Bill asked. The ant once again stays silent and cleans its antennae. "Your nest fought alongside them? That sounds awesome! I really gotta find these guys. Hey, can you wake this nerd up for me?" Bill requested. The ant bites the nose of the cultist, who wakes up screaming.

"What happened?!" the cultist wondered in panic. "Name's Detective Breacher, nice to meet you. You're coming with us, we need answers." Bill said. "I'd rather die for Sybandis!" he spat back before licking a gap in his teeth. "Where's the pill?" the cultist wondered in panic. Mr. Bubskins hands Bill a white pill; the cultist's poison pill disguised as a tooth.

"Guys, get some handcuffs here, he's awake!" Bill yelled to the other officers before walking away with Mr. Bubskins sticking on his helmet. He walks to the door on his left as he left the shrine and once again finds the barracks containing a pile of dead bodies covered in ants. "Holy shnickeys! Is your nest eating them?" Bill yelled in disgust. Mr. Bubskins approaches the bodies and the ants clear away. "Thank you, Mr. Bubskins. Guh… I'll never get that image out of my head." Bill i said n disgust.

He examines the bodies to find they were almost eaten to the bone. "I'd have to say that the attack was about a few hours before we got here, considering the speed of the antss harvesting. I'll have to call C.S.I." Bill commented. The next day on Nirn, C.S.I. is still at the Headquarters of the Divayth Fyr Foundation sewers. As a team examines the destroyed camera, a small hole is punched from behind the wall. They examined the hole closely, but a humanoid Dwemer-esque cyborg wearing a black jacket and jeans emerged and scared them.

"Tell nobody." the cyborg whispered with an electronic flanging voice. He crouches into the water and collects it with several plastic bottles. "W-who are y-you?" an Argonian scientist asked nervously. "I'm just a water enthusiast. Don't worry, I'm over twenty-one. Like, way over twenty-one." the cyborg answered as he kept collecting the water. "This is a crime scene, you're not supposed to be here." another Dunmer scientist said.

"Does this have to do with that guy with the yellow boots that snuck in here, like, a few weeks ago?" the cyborg described. "D-do you know him?" the Argonian scientist asked. "No, but he has mad jumping skills. He was like, **whoosh** , and pulverized that camera like a piston smashing butter!" the cyborg replied. "Do you think you can come with us? We need to ask you everything you saw about them." the Dunmer asked. The Detective appears and sees the confrontation.

"Wait, I know you. You were the guy that stole Justice Jymes' chair!" the detective yelled angrily. "Oh hello, Dave. Is this your crime scene?" the cyborg teased. "Yes, it is. Can you just come peacefully for once?" Dave asked in frustration. "It was fine the last time!" the cyborg retorted. "You stole a Vehkship and its cargo of water! Days later at the trial, you drank the New Moon Supreme Court's entire water cooler supply!" Dave ranted. "You're lucky you're a witness and not a suspect." Dave said stressfully as he grabbed the cyborg's wrist and dragged him outside. "Hey! Not so hard!" the cyborg exclaimed. Outside, Dave escorts the cyborg into a black sedan and sat him on the back passenger seat with handcuffs. "Where are we going?" the cyborg asked. "We're going to the field office for interrogation." Dave answered as he gets into the driver's seat and starts the car.

They drive west to New Narsis, the capital of House Sadras and New Vvardenfell. Dave drives to a white building that looks out of place with the alien-like Dunmer architecture. Dave parks the car in an empty lot and opens the backseat door. He grabs the cyborg by the arm and drags him towards the building. They enter the building and are greeted by a Dunmer security guard and a metal detector.

"Another one?" the guard asked, annoyed. "Same guy. Tell everyone to cover all the water coolers to the interrogation room." Dave answered as they walked through the beeping metal detector.

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 14

They make their way to an interrogation room where as they pass water coolers, staff members put black bags over them. When Dave and the cyborg enter the bleak interrogation room, he removes the handcuffs from the cyborg's wrists and sits him down. "For the record and because I forgot; what's your name" Dave asked as he sat across the cyborg. "Maxos, Maxos Deltium." Maxos answered. "Where were you on the first of Hearthfire between nine and eleven in the evening?" Dave asked.

"I was doing some totally legal water-collecting at where I was just now. Unusually, an old man in yellow boots and grey robes came by. He said he was sanitation and I let him through. I decided to stalk him and saw him jumping really high, like in those new Akaviri cartoons. I saw that one about some bald guy who destroyed an entire mou… sorry, got off track. He just hit a camera with a crowbar. I went back to my business and then saw him walk out with a bucket of blood. I didn't see anyone else there, but they might be dead." Maxos explained. "Did you notice anything else unusual?" Dave asked. "I did hear an R-Spore engine. That's everything I saw and heard, I swear by Seht." Maxos answered. "About the robes he was wearing; did it have an eye at the back? Like, embroidered, or something?" Dave asked. "It was too dark to see anything. The lights were flickering on and off, like my sister on Turdas." Maxos replied.

"What generation Fabricant are you?" Dave asked. "I'm a Generation Four. Why do you ask?" Maxos answered. "I want to see if you might have noticed something in the corner of your… whatever you use for eyes. Or maybe that man you saw might have altered your memory. You know, just in case." Dave explained. "I did have some, what you organics called headaches, ever since then. I just thought they were from hangovers." Maxos commented. Dave slaps the handcuffs on Maxos once again. "Come with me. We're going to look around your brain." Dave said.

They go to a high-tech room underneath the building. It had white walls, several computers in what appears to be a command centre, and a lab with advanced technology made out of the Dwemer metal. "Welcome to the Scanner. The Clockwork City's government gave this to us after we sent a request for this to find the Fabricant serial-killer, Pendulum." Dave explained. They approach an egg-shaped metal frame with cords inside in the shape of a chair in front of a ceiling-mounted projector and a control panel. "This is one of those memory-chair-things I saw on billboards around The Clockwork City. My pal Phyzos said they can make for a great mind trip." commented Maxos.

"This one however, is not the commercial model. Instead of the user reliving their own memories, the controller views them and can also install software." Dave explained. They approach a female Dunmer scientist at a computer near the Scanner. "Ready when you are, Detective." the scientist confirmed in a raspy voice. Dave removes the handcuffs once again and gestured Maxos to the cord-chair. "You ready?" Dave asked. "Yeah, I'm just gonna sit here and sleep, right. This must be the first time I shut down without drinking water." Maxos replied.

He sits down on the cords and they automatically wrap around him, plugging into his head like metal snakes. Dave snaps his fingers in front of Maxos' open eyes with no response. "He's out cold. Activate the projector." Dave commanded the scientist. She operates the computer and the projector activates, slowly rendering a 3D image of the sewer on the empty space below it. The final rendering was the old man; the same one that was tied to the Sybandis statue in New Moon City.

"Play." Dave commanded the scientist as he stares at the hologram. The hologram plays as if it was actually happening, albeit with a slight distortion effect. Maxos and the old man start to speak. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Maxos asked the old man. "I'm from sanitation, the drain's clogged and I'm supposed to clean it up." the old man lied.

"I may not have a major in surface culture, but robes aren't sanitation uniforms." Maxos doubted. "I… umm… it's a new fad?" the old man said awkwardly. "Nice try, but that won't fool me. Who are you with?" Maxos asked. The old man shoots him with a bolt of energy from a pistol. Maxos collapses and shuts down.

"What was that? He didn't mention that in the interview." Dave wondered. "There is indeed a recording of the events that your interrogation described, but it's in the recycling bin of his mind." the scientist briefed. "Can you play the rest?" Dave requested. "The guy wakes up three hours later. Let me fast forward this." the scientist said. The projector renders a scene similar to the moment before Maxos was shot.

"Okay, have a nice day." Maxos said. The old man waddles deeper into the tunnel as Maxos crouches down, filling plastic bottles with sewage. "Fast forward until the next interesting thing." Dave instructed. The projector fast-forwards Maxos filling several bottles for three seconds and ceases when Maxos stands up. He walks deeper into the sewer where he sees the old man below a ceiling-mounted security camera, above the stream of sewage he is standing in. The old man jumps very high and then smashes the camera with a crowbar.

"That was sick." Maxos whispered. The old man turns around, but gets a cramp and moans in pain. Maxos then backs away and resumes collecting sewage water. Moments later, the old man passes Maxos with a bucket filled with a blood red liquid. The old man leaves the sewer and a very loud engine is heard outside to Maxos' surprise.

"Get some stills of the memories." Dave requested. "Yes, sir." the scientist confirmed as the footage stops.

To be continued…


	15. Chapter 15

Later on Masser, Bill, wearing robotic-looking goggles wrapped in cloth and a hardhat, was interrogating the cultist, when Detective Garrison opens the door. "Detective Breacher, we have something from the I.B.I. investigation down on Nirn." Detective Garrison informed Bill. "Like what?" Bill asked as he stepped out of the room. "That guy you were interrogating; he stole the nanomachines that were manipulating the confiscated clothing. He was in possession of an R-Spore used to travel from Nirn and Masser." explained Detective Garrison. "How'd they figure that out?" Bill asked.

"Remember Maxos?" Detective Garrison asked. "The Fabricant who stole a vehkship and its entire cargo? How could I not remember him? Was he a witness?" Bill asked. "Yes, he was. He was apparently hacked by the suspect in the interrogation room to rewrite the memory of their confrontation. They managed to recover what he saw in the sewers when the nanomachines were stolen." Detective Garrison explained. "It takes a lot of smarts to hack a Fabricant, even a Gen-Four. We need to take caution with this guy. Who knows what else is up his sleeve?" Bill warned. "I'm gonna find out more from the I.B.I." Detective Garrison said as he walked away.

Hours later, Bill is leaning against the wall next to the interrogation room window, clutching a mug of coffee with the cloth covering his face lifted above his nose. Detective Garrison walks in looking puzzled. "Bill, are you okay? Do you want me to take care of this?" Detective Garrison offered. "No, Alex! I can handle this case! Now get out of here!" Bill yelled at the top of his lungs while pointing to the door behind Detective Garrison. "Okay but before I go: have you ever thought to use some of your…" "Get out!" Bill yelled at Detective Garrison.

Detective Garrison runs out the room hurriedly and slams the door closed. Bill notices his phone vibrating in his pocket and finds an incoming call from "Oscar" and picks up the call. "What?" Bill answered angrily. "WHY DON'T YOU BRING HARVEY?" a robotic male text-to-speech voice answered. "What good will he do?" Bill asked.

"REMEMBER FRED?" Oscar asked. "Yeah I never knew how he did it then. But I think I'll take care of this myself." Bill answered confidently. "I WILL ERASE YOUR FILES." Oscar threatened. Bill hangs up the call and leaves the room, locking the door behind him. As he was walking to the exit, an Argonian officer approaches him.

"Where are you going? We thought you're taking care of the suspect?" the officer asked. "I need to get Harvey." Bill answered. "With all due respect sir, but that's insane. Remember what happened to the last suspect that 'interacted' with Harvey?" the officer reminded. "No, and I don't intend to find out." Bill dismissed as he walks away. Bill leaves the building and drives away in his car.

Meanwhile, the Argonian officer enters the interrogation room. "Another one?" the old man said in annoyance. "I am **so** sorry of what will happen in the next hour." the officer apologized pre-emptively in pity. "What's that supposed to mean?" the old man said in confusion. Bill returns, carrying a pet carrier with Harvey inside.

He goes to the interrogation room where he sees Detective Garrison talking to the old man. Bill opens the door to the interrogation room and gestures Detective Garrison to leave. As Detective Garrison closes the door behind him, Bill places the pet carrier inside the interrogation room, opens the wire door and leaves the room with a door slam. On the other side of the window, Bill and Detective Garrison close the blinds of the viewing glass as the old man screams in terror behind the window. After half an hour, Bill enters the interrogation room and finds the old man lying on the floor in a foetal position as Harvey sleeps in his carrier.

"Are you gonna tell us now?" Bill asked. "J-just get that m-monster away from me." The old man whispered nervously. Bill closes the carrier and hands it to Detective Garrison, who handles cautiously as he closes the door behind him. "Now, what can you tell me about the Ambassador?" Bill asked. "A-Amaranth…" the old man whispered.

"What does that mean?" Bill asked. Suddenly an explosion occurs outside the room with smoke blinding the observation window, which is then broken by a brick that hits Bill on the head. It breaks in two as Bill's head is protected with the hard hat. "Luckily I got my hardhat." Bill said casually amidst the chaos and screaming emanating from the office. A large fist emerges from the smoke and punches Bill in his mask and is knocked out.

He wakes up in what appears to be a darkened room with silhouettes of people. He finds himself tied back-to-back with Mask. "Ugh… where are we?" Bill wondered. "You're on Eye-One; the key to Sybandis." one of the darkened figures answered in a raspy voice. "You must be the big boss." Bill assumed.

"For this project; yes." the figure replied. "Why do want us here?" Bill asked. "You and your friend are quite a resilient duo. You ought to have a reward; a front seat at the destruction of Nirn and entry to Sybandis." the figure said. Bill is blindfolded and carried away. Later, he finds himself in a large circular control room behind a window of a far view of Nirn.

"We're on an aurbical station!?" Bill panicked. "Do you remember the case on the engineer's murder?" an Approaching Argonian man in grey robes asked. "H-how do you intend on destroying Nirn?" Bill asked nervously. "Ask your friend here. He managed to sneak aboard." the Argonian said. "How'd you manage that?" Bill turned to Mask.

Mask stays silent, still being unconscious. "We didn't catch that. Maybe you should open your mouth… oh, wait!" the Argonian said as he grasped Mask's helmet. "You don't have one!" the Argonian removed Mask's helmet, revealing a faceless Dunmer.

To be continued…


	16. Chapter 16

In the midst of the attack on the station, Detective Garrison hides under a desk armed with a pistol. Harvey, still inside his carrier, is still sleeping despite the current situation. A grey-hooded figure emerges from the smoke and looks over the desk. Detective Garrison stands and attempts to shoot the figure, but they knock the gun out of his hands. The hooded figure casts a fire destruction spell in his hand, but is attacked from behind by Harvey.

He holds onto the assailant's head while clawing their face as they flail about until they slip on a puddle of coffee and lands on their back. "I can't believe I'm gonna trust a cat to do this… Harvey, get help!" Detective Garrison yelled to Harvey. Harvey jumps out of a hole in the wall and lands on Bill's car. He jumps on the trunk repeatedly for it to open. A man wearing a green shirt, vibrant blue jeans, a backpack, and a wide-brimmed red hardhat emerges from the trunk.

"Axe Man!" he exclaims while materialising a fire axe out of nowhere. He scales the wall up to the fourth floor and jumps into the hole at the side of the building, hacking and slashing every cultist he sees. "Axe Man!" he yells as he brutally murders the cultists. After the deed is done he jumps out of the hole and straight into the trunk, closing it shut. Detective Garrison runs outside coughing and then leans against Bill's car.

"Who the hell was that?!" Detective Garrison sputtered. Harvey hotwires the car and drives away, causing Detective Garrison to fall on the curb. "Dammit Harvey!" he cursed angrily. Harvey arrives at Bill's house, jumps out of the car window and into a cat door. He runs into Bill's bedroom where Darlene is sleeping on the bed and the computer displaying a neutral face made of pixels.

"HARVEY WE HAVE A PROBLEM." Oscar voice emanated from the computer. Harvey stays silent. "I KNOW YOU WERE THERE. I JUST NEEDED YOU HERE SO YOU DON'T GET STABBED. JUST RELAX, I'M SENDING DARLENE." Oscar said. Harvey meows. "FINE, BUT YOU STAY ON THE SHIP WITH THE MICROWAVE." the computer said.

A cat-sized tube emerges from the floor for Harvey and Darlene to walk through it. They are led into a dimly lit room with a large rocket at the centre. The two cats walk towards the rocket as it folds out a ramp into an airlock. They walk into the rocket and close the airlock. "TEN," Oscar counted.

NINE

EIGHT. REMOVING FUEL LINE

SEVEN.

SIX. OPENING LAWN.

FIVE

FOUR. IGNITING ENGINE.

THREE

TWO

ONE. LIFTOFF.

The rocket zooms out of s large hatch in Bill's back lawn and into the air. It reaches the upper atmosphere where a hatch in the dome opens. The rocket emerges through the hatch and ends up in the vacuum of aurbis. Meanwhile on Eye-One, Bill is in shock as he sees Mask's face, or lack thereof.

"Is he even awake?" he wondered nervously. "I'm not sure if he is asleep or staying silent just to spite Me. We didn't hit him that hard." the Argonian answered. The Argonian flicked his finger in the middle of Mask's not-face, waking him up. "Ow!" Mask said in pain. "Finally. Before you and this world dies, your partner wants some answers. I'll give you a few minutes" the Argonian said before leaving the room through automatic doors behind them.

"Bill? What are you doing here?" Mask asked. "What's up with your face?" Bill asked nervously. "*SIGH* I guess it's time you knew. Jirald is a person known as an Amaranth. They can create other worlds outside our own, beyond the boundaries of the void. He was never good with faces and thus the world he created, its inhabitants had no faces. Though I was once an exception. When I was 'born' I was made to look like Jirald's father, who was away very frequently when he was a boy. I was chosen to be his 'playdate' whenever he was alone in the family mansion. Over the years after his father's death, I began to lose my facial features and that's why I look like this. When Jirald died my world stopped existing, but I remained because I stayed in Mundus." Mask explained. "How were you captured?" Bill asked. "I finally found out what the Cult wanted. They wanted to harness Jirald's power of creating worlds to destroy more like them. He found out and arranged his own assassination. As for my capture, I was with Detective Gro-Adal at his apartment when the Cult barged in through his window and captured us. I'm not sure if he's still alive, though." Mask explained.

"I've seen weird things, but this is a whole 'nother level." Bill commented. The Argonian enters the room flanked by more cultists. "Time's up for you and your world!" the Argonian said threateningly as the other cultists man the consoles. "How are you gonna do that?" Bill asked. "We armed this station with kinetic warhead stolen with the help of the Vokman anonymously. That's another reason why we needed to rid ourselves of Mr. Garrison. We absolutely had no idea they killed our target." the Argonian explained.

"We're gonna stop you! Somehow." Bill said confidently. "How are you going to do that? You're all tied up!" the Argonian taunted. "Sir, there is an incoming aurcraft!" a cultist warned the Argonian. "Bring up the feed!" the Argonian commanded the cultist. On the viewing glass, footage of a rocket crashing through the loading bay door of the station is displayed.

Darlene jumps out of the cockpit and sits on the nose. "How did a cat get in?" the Argonian wondered. Darlene fires lasers out of her eyes at the guards, burning holes through them. "Whatchu looking at?" Bill asked in curiosity. "A rocket crashed through the loading bay doors and a cat started shooting lasers and killing our guards!" the Argonian answered in panic.

To be continued…


	17. Chapter 17

"It must be Darlene. She's a feisty one." Bill commented smugly. "Your **pet** , I presume?" the Argonian asked angrily. "Uh huh! I expect Harvey to be following behind too." Bill replied. "Harvey?" the Argonian wondered in confusion. The door behind them explodes and several knives fly towards the cultists, killing them.

Harvey emerges from the smoke and sat down next to Bill. "Good boy! Help get us out of these." Bill thanked Harvey. The Argonian, a knife embedded in his right eye, removes the knife and attempts to stab Bill, but is shot in the other eye by Ghreg, who emerges from the smoke. "Do you seriously think a cat can unbind ropes?" Ghreg asked sarcastically. He approaches the two unties them.

"I think this is yours." Ghreg said as he passes Mask's helmet to him. "You're not alarmed by his mannequin face?" Bill asked in confusion. "Breacher, we're both detectives. Only difference is that I'm better. I found out while investigating these guys." Ghreg explained. "What do we do now?" Mask asked as he fastened his helmet. "We blow this popsicle stand!" Bill exclaimed.

"There should be a reactor in this station. There should be heavy resistance unless your cat microwaved them." Ghreg explained. "The rocket that they arrived in has a microwave, a mini-generator, and a rod of daedrium. We can use those to blow it up if hacking the computers doesn't work. Ghreg and Harvey, you retrieve Darlene and the microwave bomb from the hold, I'll meet you at the reactor with Mask." Bill commanded. They go their separate ways, Bill and Mask going to the right of the control room door, and Ghreg, holding Harvey, went the other. Ghreg and Harvey encounter the bodies of armoured cultists peppered with holes. "Your sister does this?" Ghreg asked.

"Right, you're a cat. Why am I talking to a cat?" Ghreg thought. They reach a door in the hallway with a hole melted into it and a "Breakroom" sign above. Ghreg peeks into it and finds Darlene eating a raw steak on the floor as the porous body of an Argonian sits at a table. "*CLICKING TONGUE* Darlene, here girl!" Ghreg summoned Darlene. She walked over to Ghreg and upon seeing Harvey from the corner of the door they start hissing and fighting.

"Hey, hey! Enough of that!" Ghreg scolded as he tried to separate them. On the other side of the station Bill and Mask, armed with two enchanted assault rifles, barricade themselves behind a large metal panel next to a wall with exposed wiring and pipes as they are under fire by the cultists at the end of a hallway. "You got grenades?" Bill asked. "No, and even if I did that's a horrible idea. We're on an aurbical station! Do you want a slow death in the vacuum of aurbis?" Mask scolded. "Nobody died from that yet." Bill rebutted.

"You really want to be the first?" Mask asked. "I have a firebomb. That's less destructive, right?" Bill suggested as he held a glass bottle of oil. "Why do you have a forebomb?!" Mask asked worriedly. "Found it on a body on the way here. New Vegas taught me well." Bill answered. He casts sparks from his hand onto the rag of the bottle and throws it over the barricade.

The bottle explodes into flames and sets three cultists on fire. The two emerge from the barricade and open fire on the panicking cultists and make their way to the reactor. They arrive in a large room with giant machines that supply power to the station. "I'll stay here and guard the entrance. You look around for potential resistance." Mask instructed. "Even in real life I have to look for stuff." Bill complained.

Bill climbs a scaffold and enters the control room, discovering a destroyed control console. He breaks open a window in front of the console and shouts "Looks like we'll have to use the microwave!" to Mask. "Behind you!" Mask warned Bill as he points to Bill. A Dunmer cultist chokeholds Bill with a pipe and holds him against an intact console. Bill spits in the cultist's eye causing him to stumble away from the console.

Bill grabs the pipe and strikes the cultist in the head. He then throws him out of the broken window for good measure. "I'm okay!" Bill shouted from out the window. Ghreg, appearing distressed, arrives carrying the two cats, an old microwave, a small device that resembles a battery, and a lead-lined case all in his arms. The cats jump down from him as he drops the objects on the floor carefully.

"This better be worth it!" Ghreg said impatiently. Bill climbs down from the scaffolding and starts assembling the objects into some sort of makeshift bomb. "When I flip the switch, we run like Oblivion." Bill warned them as he laid the microwave between the reactors. He opens the case and puts on gloves for handling the daedrium rod. He puts the glowing red rod inside the microwave and sets the dial timer to ten minutes.

He slowly hovers his finger over a switch on the mini-generator. "On my signal, run." Bill says calmly to the group. He flips the switch and starts running while repeating "Now!" hurriedly. Mask grabs the cats and runs alongside Ghreg. As they run through the hallway Bill is captured by cultists and dragged into a room.

Ghreg attempts to help, to Bill responding, "Go without me! I'm confident some miracle will–" before the door closes on him and is last seen with a bat striking his head from behind. Ghreg punches the door before Mask drags him away with the two cats on his shoulders. Inside the room, an empty living quarters, Bill knocks out the cultist behind him with the bottom-end of the bat and wrestles another before the room explodes and are sucked into the vacuum of aurbis. "This isn't the worst thing that…" Bill thought before falling unconscious.

To be continued…


	18. Chapter 18

As Bill's mind faded out, a beam of light shone on him. A robotic blue serpentine dragon shines the beams from its eyes as it approaches before engulfing him in its mouth. Inside the dragon, walls lined with advanced machinery and glowing blue lights, Bill is approached by a figure in a blue skin-tight metallic suit and a helmet with a serpentine dragon motif; a black tinted visor with a jaw design frame and beady dragon eyes on the temples. They put their fingers on Bill's neck and shows relief. They sat him in a chair next to what appear to be a futuristic control panel and pilot chair.

They secure him on the chair with seven-point harness and sat themselves down on the control chair and the holographic feed of aurbis lines itself along the walls. They manoeuvre the dragon past the rocket on the way back to Masser. Inside the rocket, Mask and Ghreg view the robot dragon from the porthole in awe. "Was that a dragon?!" Ghreg wondered in surprise. As the dragon overtakes the rocket Bill is suddenly teleported inside the rocket while still sitting in the chair.

"Bill!" the two cried as they run towards him. Ghreg puts his ear against Bill's chest. "His heart is still beating but he's not breathing properly. Find an oxygen tank, quickly!" Ghreg said worriedly. "What about mouth to mouth?" Mask asked. The two stared at each other awkwardly for two seconds. "That's right. You: tusks. I have no mouth. I'll… get on that." Mask said awkwardly.

"Go!" Ghreg hurried fiercely. Just then, Bill springs back to life and takes a deep gasp of air. "Where… am I?" Bill wondered weakly. You're on a rocket. You were teleported here after we saw a dragon fly by." Mask explained. "Bullcrap." Bill replied weakly. "I'm waiting on the tank here!" Ghreg exclaimed.

Mask brings a blue metal gas tank with a transparent green breathing mask attached to a tube on the valve. He puts the mask against Bill's face as they approach the dome on the moon. The hatch opens once more and the rocket adjusts itself upright and land on the underground landing pad. A door on the rocket opens and Ghreg emerges holding Bill in his arms and Mask next to him holding the tank, still attached to Bill's face.

They walk out of the rocket as the two cats follow them and enter a cylindrical elevator that takes them to the surface at the house's rear porch. As they exit the elevator it descends, concealing its spot with grass. They enter Bill's house and lay him on a couch for Mask to cast a healing spell on him. "You think he'll be okay?" Ghreg asked Mask. "I hope so. We had a conversation about the vacuum of aurbis earlier and look where he ended up. He might have been taken by that… dragon thing when he was blasted outside." Mask answered worriedly.

"I'll call an ambulance." Ghreg said as he picked up a home phone next to the couch. Later an ambulance arrives at the house where two Moon Elf paramedics carry Bill into the ambulance. "What happened to him?" another paramedic asked Ghreg. "He was briefly blasted outside the dome somehow, but showed up half an hour later." Ghreg lied calmly. A police cruiser parks in front of the house and Detective Garrison exits hurriedly and runs towards Bill as he is loaded into the ambulance.

"Breacher! What happened?" Detective Garrison asked Bill worriedly. "I'll tell you later. The report's gonna be a doozy." Bill said in a muffled voice under his breathing mask as he is loaded into the ambulance. Detective Garrison turns around and sees Ghreg with a surprised look. "Detective Gro-Adal, how are you?" Detective Garrison asked in surprise. "I've been in hiding for a while. I've been collaborating with Detective Breacher on his case." Ghreg answered.

Detective Garrison then turns to Mask. "You're that… uh…" Detective Garrison stammered. "I'm the bodyguard of the victim, or at least, former bodyguard. At least Bill solved the case and gave me some closure." Mask said. "You going to the hospital later?" Ghreg asked. "I'll let Bill rest for a while, the guy deserves it." Detective Garrison replied with a sigh as he walks to the car.

"Seeya, Lex!" Ghreg waved as Detective Garrison drives away. The next day, the three visit Bill in the hospital. Mask was carrying a bouquet of yellow flowers. "Is that for me? I'm not dying." Bill commented weakly. "Your tomato plant suddenly bloomed these, so I picked them for you." Ghreg said.

"Oh, Saint Mathius… I think she likes me. She's the tomato plant by the way." Bill said. "Of course you named your garden plants. So, how are you feeling?" Detective Garrison asked. "They said I'll be out by evening. I'll write up the report after that." Bill answered. "How many times did we have cases like this?" Detective Garrison asked. "I think this is like… the thir–no, the fifteenth weird one." Bill answered.

"Bill, they told me everything about what happened. What did you see out there?" Detective Garrison asked. "Well, I kinda saw a blue dragon. It must be a hallucination from oxygen deprivation or something." Bill chuckled. "If the giant pink robot guar from your last two reports is possible, so can that." Detective Garrison chuckled back. "Weird, I know. That's just a day in the life of me." Bill commented. Bill's phone rings on a bed stand next to him.

"Hello?" "Breacher!" a voice from the receiver screamed. "Boss! Yes, what is it?" Bill asked. "Where's the company vacuum?" "I-it's still in my car. I'll return it later. "You'd better… or you're fired!" the caller then hangs up. "Who was that?" Mask asked. "That was my boss at the Box Factory." Bill answered.

"He sounds calmer than the captain." Detective Garrison joked. The three detectives laugh, only for Mask to say "She seemed nice, though".

THE END


End file.
